Birding and other distractions

A lovely day with unbroken sunshine and light winds. The birding began on the beach in Kalloni Bay with several Black-necked Grebes offshore plus a single Great Crested Grebe. Then to the mudflats opposite the Aegian hotel, which held up to 15 Gull-billed Terns, a Whiskered Tern, Glossy Ibis, a couple of Little Ringed Plover and numerous Kentish Plovers. A distant Long-legged Buzzard sat atop a telegraph pole. Red-throated Pipits were  heard and five sat on telephone wires though were backlit by the sun so their detail was less than ideal. Then to the Kalloni Saltpans with extraordinary numbers of birds on the nearby Alykes wetland. A Eurasian Bittern, a minimum of five Purple Herons, three Squacco Herons, three Black Storks, two Dalmatian Pelicans, two Collared Pratincoles, and approx 40 Garganey were among the birds present on the wetland. The saltpans had three first-summer Little Gulls, three Slender-billed Gulls, and a Marsh Sandpiper, together with many other birds. Two Whinc...

We picked up the hire car at about 1:30 and headed west along the coast to Haramida, the site where Ruppell's Warbler has been present in recent years. I may have heard one sing briefly but failed to see it. However, excellent views of Cretzschmar's Bunting and Sardinian Warbler were obtained, and an Alpine Swift flew over together with numerous Red-rumped Swallows. An Orphean Warbler was also seen, though only briefly. What was probably a Thrush Nightingale was in song though the bird did not show itself. The next stop was the Kalloni Saltpans where Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, 2-3 Spotted Redshank, and several Ruff were among the waders present. Sardinian Warbler  Spotted Redshanks and Wood Sandpiper  Marsh Sandpiper  Ruff

An afternoon visit following a survey (BBS) at Marden.  In previous years I've seen the odd Wheatear in the Ivy Fleet paddock at Allhallows, and was hoping for the same today. As it happened I found one quite soon, then another two, all very smart males. Walking further along it was clear that at least five were present. The final tally of Wheatears was six birds, which included one female. Nearby, Sedge Warblers were singing from reeds alongside the fleet. A Cattle Egret flew over Binney Marsh and landed out of sight. At Northward Hill I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year, and there were three Nightingales in song, though all kept well hidden. A young Common Lizard was found on a pile of logs. Male Northern Wheatear Female Northern Wheatear As above Cattle Egret

Virtually a year to the day since I last went to Orlestone, the main objective being the same, to hopefully find Large Tortoiseshell. It was a lovely sunny day. The butterfly took some finding but eventually two were seen. One was high up on an oak tree, the other nearby though at head height. Unfortunately the latter individual had a chunk missing from one wing. Other butterflies seen were most commonly Brimstone, also Peacock and a Comma. Shortly after my arrival I heard a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, the kee-kee-kee song. However, I couldn't see the bird despite scanning the tree tops. Large Tortoiseshell  Faggs Wood, the butterflies being seen in this ride, on the right hand side.

A mild day with glimpses of sunshine, and dry for a change. The visit started well with the sighting of a Red Kite, my first at Bredhurst and long overdue. It flew south then veered east over the woods. PV was fairly quiet apart from a pair of Marsh Tits, while there was a very showy Goldcrest near the stile in DV.  I found the first adder of the year in TF, as expected a male at this time of year. I generally find the first one before the end of February though this is probably the earliest ever at the site. On the walk back a male Greenfinch posed well near the churchyard, prior to washing in a puddle. Soon after there were two singing males in the churchyard, hopefully potential breeding birds in the area. Marsh Tit Goldcrest  Male Adder  Greenfinch male 

A dry day at last, also calm though with little sign of the sun. Starting at Walland there was a very nice gathering of geese on the marsh just south of the Woolpack Inn. In amongst the Greylags were approximately 20 White-fronted Geese, four Tundra Bean, three Pink-feet and a single Barnacle Goose. After about 15 minutes the whole flock flew off, possibly flushed by a low-flying plane. Heading further into the marsh we stopped near Midley Cottages, where about 20 Tree Sparrows were present in loose groups along the roadside. Other birds seen there included two Yellowhammers and several Chaffinch, a male of which was singing now and then. A flock of c40 Bewick's Swans remained along Ashentree Lane, though they were fairly distant. On a flooded area closer to the road a collection of Black-headed and Common gulls also included four adult Mediterranean. A visit to the RSPB reserve revealed relatively few birds on Burrows, notably with smaller numbers of gulls than expected. However, ...